The Premier Pokewalker
by StarLion
Summary: Set in the real world. Adam lost his Pokewalker, and orders a new one. When it arrives he finds it's just a little different to all the others... Oneshot.


**A/N: **Welcome to yet another story from the depths of my ocean of random ideas!  
As usual, you get to put up with a disclaimer that I don't own Pokémon or anything like that. Aside from my use of them and the Pokéwalker, there isn't actually much from it I'm using.  
Now, while I've yet to hear of anyone doing what Adam does here, it's not a bad idea. Personally though, I don't like the idea - I prefer to do it myself, and I'm of the opinion that everyone ought to do the same, but to each their own.  
For the curious, the idea that spawned this isn't really all that interesting. I just happened to be out, and had a 'What If this were real' moment, and thus this story was born.

Enjoy.

* * *

The world of Pokémon, right in your hand! Take them anywhere on the Nintendo DS, and now with the Pokéwalker you can take a walk with one of them just like you were really walking with them.  
One of the theories behind the introduction of the Pokéwalker was that it made kids get out more to take advantage of it. It worked, to some degree, which was why the theory had continued to last. Not everyone bothered with it though, preferring to stick to the main game itself.  
Adam, on the other hand, recognised an opportunity when he saw one. He knew his friends and peers, and knew that most of them would either ignore it, or only gain limited benefit from the short trips they took. Well, long trips – but the Pokéwalker didn't recognise them as long if you were in a car, only if you walked.  
So he'd set up a little service for them. For a slight fee and their Pokéwalker, he'd do the walking for them. Use of the Dowsing Machine, or the capture of any Pokémon while on the walk costed extra, but not by much – he wasn't unreasonable, and he didn't want to drive his customers away.  
Of course, he'd had to figure out a way to tell who's one was who. This was solved by putting each in a small resealable bag, just big enough for it, each one labelled with the name of it's owner.  
Then all he'd had to do was keep a note of what had been asked for on each one, and he was away. It was slow at first, but word got passed around, and things picked up quickly.  
There had been one down-side to it, however. Somehow along the way he'd lost his own Pokéwalker. This was inconvenient, but he didn't mind this. He'd saved up enough to order another one.  
Adam wasn't the kind to blend in easily. He was shorter than most people, and was seldom seen wearing anything other than shorts and a t-shirt, even in mid-winter. Weather didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, good or bad.  
His room was as unusual as he was. Various band posters hung on the walls, except around the desk in the room. All kinds of things were scattered over the desk, and more were piled untidily at the end of his bed. Only the bedside table seemed free from it, holding a lamp and alarm clock.  
There was a knock at his door.  
"Come on in. It's already open."  
Alex, one of his friends, came in. Unlike Adam, Alex was tall and relatively thin. They could almost be twins otherwise.  
"Am I bothering you?" he asked.  
"Not really. I'm done for the day, just making a note of everything I sorted today and bringing accounts up to date."  
"Mind if I add another to your accounts?"  
"Of course not. Yours, I assume?"  
"Naturally. I've already sent my Pokémon to it. Just once tomorrow, after school, if you don't mind."  
Adam nodded, opening one draw in the desk to find the bag with Alex's name on it for his Pokéwalker. He then glanced at one of the sheets of paper on the desk.  
"You've paid ahead enough that you won't have to worry about it this time," he told Alex.  
"I thought so. Your new one arrived yet?"  
"Not yet. It should be here with the morning post. I'll bring it with me when I come in to school."  
"You don't do this while at school though, do you?"  
Adam shook his head, "They don't like me doing it there. Besides, here is where I keep track of things. Sometimes I'll return a few Pokéwalkers there, but usually people pay me to go from weekend to weekend, which gives them five days of me walking for them."  
"You'd have thought they'd go for daily," Alex noted. "You charge less for it, and their Pokémon get more levels."  
"They're lazy," he shrugged. "I don't really mind, and doesn't cost that much more."  
"It's the principle of it, Adam. I can't understand why they'd want to pay more, for less."  
"It's their money. At least until I get paid, then it's mine."  
"Whatever works I guess."  
"You know what would shut me down, but get people doing this themselves and be really cool at the same time?"  
"What's that?"  
"If the Pokéwalker let you really walk with the the Pokémon, like bringing them really out."  
Alex laughed, "Impossible, but would be really cool. I think I'd have to bring out my Empoleon from Diamond to show it off if it really happened. Nothing has ever beaten it."  
"Except my Jolteon," Adam reminded him. "I'd definitely choose to bring him out.  
"I swear that Jolteon isn't normal. If I didn't know you better, I'd say you'd cheated or something."  
"I don't approve of that kind of thing. He's just well trained."  
"Yeah, well trained to KO just about anything I throw at him..."  
"Just because you've never beaten him yet..."  
"Whatever. I'm going to leave you to it. I'm meant to be meeting the rest of the band soon."  
"Enjoy yourself. I'll take care of your walk for you."  
Alex nodded, letting himself out again. Adam watched him leave, then made a note reminding him to take Alex's Pokéwalker as well tomorrow.

"Adam! Mail for you!"  
"I'll be down in a bit," he called back down to his mother, quickly dressing himself.  
He hurried down, picking up the small package addressed to him, picked up a plate with breakfast on, and hurried back upstairs again. This was fairly normal for him. Since the only other person in the house was his mother, she'd grown to accept this habit of his, along with his lucrative little sideline. So long as he contributed some of it back to her to pay his way, she had no objection.  
The package was, of course, his replacement Pokéwalker. It wasn't like any other one he'd seen before though. It was the same shape, of course, but instead of the normal red and white of a Poké ball, it was instead coloured white, like that of a Premier ball.  
He checked all the various leaflets that came with it along with the packaging, but nothing except the colours appeared to be any different. He even checked the menu on it, and found no difference at all, so shrugged it off and loaded up his own Pokémon game, easily navigating his filing system to find the Jolteon he'd spoken of the night before and put it on the Pokéwalker, then putting it on the bedside table.  
When Adam turned back to the table though, he found a Jolteon stood with it's back legs on his chair, and the front on the table, eating his breakfast. It paused and looked up at him curiously when it sensed him looking.  
"I'm dreaming," he said. "I've got to be dreaming. There's no other explanation for this."  
The Jolteon shook it's head, as if to disagree.  
"If I'm not dreaming then, what's going on?"  
It seemed to jerk it's head toward something. Adam didn't catch on, making it jump down and trot over to his bed, which it jumped up onto. It then moved to the bedside table, nudged the Pokéwalker with one paw, and looked back at him.  
"The Pokéwalker? But how?"  
It shrugged, licking a bit off his egg yolk off it's lips.  
Adam picked up his Pokéwalker again, examining it. It looked perfectly normal to him, until he opened the menu. An extra option was on the end, unlabelled.  
Selecting it brought up a new screen. It asked if he wanted to recall his Pokémon. He did so, glancing at the Jolteon on his bed at the same time. It faded to red light, which vanished into the Pokéwalker. Just as if it had been a Poké ball.  
The Pokéwalker had returned to showing Jolteon on the screen, just like a normal walk. When he re-entered the menu, the extra option was there again. This time it asked if he wanted to send out his Pokémon.  
Jolteon reappeared on the bed when he confirmed it.  
"So you really are my Jolteon," Adam said, half to himself in wonderment. Jolteon just nodded. "I can't believe this," he shook his head. "My own Pokémon. Out here in the real world. Are you really..." he trailed off. Jolteon appeared to understand though, getting up again and coming over to him. He nuzzled his head against Adam's hand.  
"You _are_ real... but how's this possible?" Jolteon didn't respond, enjoying the head scratching Adam had absently begun to give him. "It must be the Pokéwalker," he decided. "It's not just different in colour... it can do this too." He thought about this for a bit, finishing off what Jolteon had left of his breakfast, then grinned to himself.  
He stowed the new Pokéwalker in a pocket, then prepared his bag for school, adding a few Pokéwalkers in one pocket. He'd give them back to their owners while there.  
"Feel like taking a walk with me, Jolteon?" he asked his Pokémon. Jolteon gave a bark, making Adam laugh again and pat his head before they left.  
"Just wait until everyone sees this," he laughed to himself.


End file.
